Scooby-Doo 2002’s Brilliant Villain Twist Was the Perfect Answer to a Decades-Old Complaint

The 2002 live action Scooby-Doo the film had a great villain twist and was the perfect answer to a decades-old complaint about the franchise and one specific character. Since 1969, Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang have been solving all kinds of spooky mysteries with their quirky sense of humor. After many animated films, Scooby-Doo and friends finally made it to the big screen with a live-action film. Simply titled Scooby-Doothe film was directed by Raja Gosnell and written by James Gunn, and starred some of the most popular actors of the 2000s.

Scooby-Doo sees the Mystery Inc. gang reuniting two years after their split when they are hired by Emile Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson) to solve a mystery on Spooky Island, his horror-themed tropical resort. Mondavarious explains that the guests, all teenagers and young adults, have fallen under a demonic curse, and only Scooby and the gang can solve this mystery. Scooby-Doo has an unexpected villain twistwhich, although it was heavily criticized, was the perfect response to a decades-old franchise complaint.

Scooby-Doo’s villain twist was a response to the character’s bad reputation

Scrappy-Doo is not a beloved character

Scooby and friends eventually discover that someone on Spooky Island is taking guests’ souls and keeping them in a tank, but the demons need a pure soul to sacrifice for their world domination ritual to be successful – and that pure soul is From Scooby. Mondavarious’s plan all along was to use Scooby for his ritual, so the Mystery Inc. gang put their differences aside and banded together to save their friend. However, What no one is telling you is that Mondavarious is actually Scooby’s nephew, Scrappy-Doodisguised.

Although the ritual is interrupted by the gang, Scrappy still absorbs some of the guests’ souls and transforms into a huge monster, and tries to kill his uncle and friends. The souls are eventually freed and Scrappy returns to normal, and at the end of Scooby-Doohe is arrested and the real Mondavarious is rescued. Adding Scrappy-Doo to Scooby-Doo wasn’t exactly a nostalgic move by Gosnell and Gunn and was instead a response to their well-known collective hatred for the character.

Talking to electronic warfare to share some secrets about producing Scooby-DooGosnell opened up about the decision to make Scrappy the true villain. Gosnell shared that Scrappy “ruined the series”and during a brainstorming session with Gunn where they were trying to figure out the film’s final twist, they agreed to use Scrappy due to his terrible reputation and how he is hated by most Scooby-Doo fans.

Scooby-Doo 2002 originally had a different (and worse) ending

Scooby-Doo’s ending could have been much more confusing

Scooby-DooScrappy’s twist was applauded by those who hate the character, but that wasn’t the film’s original ending. According to Gosnell, the original Scooby-Doo the ending included a villain who would have descended from the sky and used ultimate power to rule the world. While this would explain why the guests’ souls were connected, it would have introduced a villain completely separate from the main characters and without a clear origin.

Another ending involved Luna Ghost/Old Smithers, who is captured by the gang at the beginning of the film (on their last mission together before they split up). However, having him back would have been repetitive and confusing, and there was nothing tying him to Spooky Island, Mondavarious, and the ritual, so it wouldn’t make sense. Ultimately, and although it was a shocking and controversial move for some, Scrappy being the real villain in Scooby-Doo improved the ending.

Why Scrappy-Doo is so hated by Scooby-Doo fans

Scrappy Doo has a terrible reputation

Scrappy Doo made his first appearance in 1979 and was created to save the show’s ratings. Although viewers initially reacted positively to Scrappy and ratings rose, thus saving the show, Scrappy eventually became one of the most hated cartoon characters of all time. Scrappy appealed to younger viewers, and that generation may not have a problem with him to this day, but for most viewers, Scrappy’s exaggerated, chaotic and annoying personality was too much. The writers of Scooby-Doo the franchise ended up using Scrappy’s bad reputation and public reaction to its advantage, turning Scrappy into an antagonist.

Scrappy being the real villain in Scooby-Doo it was fitting in terms of how much he hated the Mystery Inc. gang and how much they hated him, but also how hated he is among Scooby-Doo fans. See Scrappy being arrested at the end of Scooby-Doo it was a moment of satisfaction for those who hate him and it was a brilliant response to all the hate he received.

Source: electronic warfare.